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Drilled Hole In The Skull To Draw Off A Deep Collection

New Jersey rates for HCPCS 61156

Makes a small round hole through the skull and passes a fine tube into the brain tissue to draw off a collection of blood or fluid lying within the brain itself. Removing the collection relieves pressure on the brain around it. It is a smaller operation than opening the skull to lift the collection out under direct view.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Drilled Hole In The Skull To Draw Off A Deep Collection cost?

$3,242

Typical total for the visit. In New Jersey, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,242 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $1,380 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,862 to the hospital or surgery center where it takes place. Done somewhere without a facility charge, you pay only the first.

These are rates insurers have negotiated with providers, not the amount a patient is billed. What you owe depends on your plan's deductible and coinsurance. Based on rates published by 5 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$1,380$1,259 to $1,995
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,862$977 to $4,266

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,862 · 10th to 90th $380 to $8,511Professionalmedian $1,380 · 10th to 90th $1,175 to $3,715
$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $1,862professional $1,380

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$4,365.16
Median
$6,918.31
Typical High
$12,882.50
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,258.93
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$1,584.89
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,071.52
Median
$2,137.96
Typical High
$2,818.38
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,230.27
Median
$1,995.26
Typical High
$4,466.84
Emblem Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,412.54
Median
$1,949.84
Typical High
$2,041.74
Horizon BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,288.25
Median
$1,380.38
Typical High
$4,073.80
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$331.13
Median
$1,479.11
Typical High
$5,495.41
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,096.48
Median
$1,445.44
Typical High
$6,165.95
6 more rates with less common billing modifiers

A modifier changes what was billed, for example a reduced or repeated service. Each of these modifiers carries under 10% of the published rates for this code. Modifier combinations, and modifiers with fewer than 30 rates for a carrier, are not listed.

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
52 · Reduced service
Typical Low
$630.96
Median
$630.96
Typical High
$691.83
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$251.19
Median
$251.19
Typical High
$281.84
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$933.25
Median
$933.25
Typical High
$1,047.13
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$186.21
Median
$186.21
Typical High
$208.93
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$125.89
Median
$125.89
Typical High
$138.04
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$870.96
Median
$870.96
Typical High
$977.24

Where New Jersey sits

The same service costs 8.5 times more in Maine than in Maryland. Every bar is a state, most expensive first. Touch or drag across it to read any state, then open that state for its carriers and full range.

Physician feeFacility fee

New Jersey· 31st of 51

$3,242

$1,380 physician + $1,862 facility

ME $16,489MD $1,943

Median negotiated rate in each state, from every insurer that publishes one. States where no insurer publishes a rate for this service are not shown.